Clinical Component

Navigating the Clinical Component

This is an outpatient adult primary care practice with a geriatric and nursing-facility component. The physician works with a team of advanced practice providers, a dedicated nurse, and medical assistants, and the clinic runs on Epic. Day-to-day work centers on continuity care, access, and population health.

Patient Population

  • Adults ages 16 and older
  • Internal medicine and geriatric panel
  • Nursing facility patients in the community
  • Payer mix of about 50 to 60 percent commercial, with most of the remainder Medicare
  • Adult Medicaid is generally handled by the community Federally Qualified Health Center

Patient Volume and Access

The clinic keeps schedules full through active access management, using a waiting list and same-day appointments to fill open slots.

Metric Detail
Daily volume 16 to 22 patients
New patient wait 2 weeks to 60 days, depending on provider capacity
Schedule focus High daily utilization supported by a waiting list and same-day access

Call

Call is light and handled entirely by phone. A nurse triage line screens calls first and only routes to the physician when needed.

Detail Structure
Type Phone only, from home
Triage Nurse triage line screens calls, 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM weekdays and 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM weekends
Volume 3 to 6 calls in a typical on-call week
Frequency About 3 to 4 weeks per year, one week at a time
Coverage APPs are being added to the rotation

Clinical Support

  • Dedicated RN paired with the physician, plus medical assistants
  • Onsite imaging and lab
  • 2 to 3 exam rooms per provider
  • Epic EMR

Working with Advanced Practice Providers

The clinic has a large APP team, and the physician collaborates with them closely. Kansas requires physician collaboration for nurse practitioners.

  • One APP is typically attached to a physician
  • Some APPs carry their own patient panels; others support physicians directly
  • Physician assistant charts are reviewed for the first 45 days, then periodically

Population Health and Quality

The clinic participates in a Medicare Shared Savings program with a focus on population health.

  • Annual wellness visits
  • Preventive visits
  • Chronic disease management
  • Cancer screenings and health maintenance
  • Quality outcomes tracking and coding accuracy

Geriatric and Nursing Facility Care

The role includes continuity care for geriatric patients, with periodic in-person visits to area nursing facilities. This keeps care local and improves access for patients who would otherwise need transport to the clinic.

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